Cement and Concrete Research 33 (2003) 723 727

The effects of expanded perlite aggregate, silica fume and fly ash
on the thermal conductivity of lightweight concrete
Ramazan Demirboga*, Rustem Gul
Civil Engineering Department, Engineering Faculty, Ataturk University, 25240-Erzurum, Turkey
Received 5 May 2000; accepted 24 October 2002

Abstract

Thermal conductivity coefficients of concretes made up of mixtures of expanded perlite and pumice aggregates (PA) were measured. To
determine the effect of silica fume (SF) and class C fly ash (FA) on the thermal conductivity of lightweight aggregate concrete (LWAC), SF
and FA were added as replacement for cement by decreasing the cement weights in the ratios of 10%, 20% and 30% by weight. The highest
thermal conductivity of 0.3178 W/mK was observed with the samples containing only PA and plain cement. It decreased with the increase of
SF and FA as replacement for cement. The lowest value of thermal conductivity, which is 0.1472 W/mK, was obtained with the samples
prepared with expanded perlite aggregate (EPA) replacement of PA and 70% cement + 30% FA replacement of cement. Both SF and FA had a
decreasing effect on thermal conductivity. EPA (used in place of PA) also induced a decrease of 43.5% in thermal conductivity of concrete.
D 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Silica fume; Fly ash; Expanded perlite aggregate; Lightweight aggregate concrete; Thermal conductivity

1. Introduction
Differences in the apparent density and the effective
thermal conductivity of concretes arise from differences in
their porosity. In other words, voids filled with air contribute
nothing to the weight of concrete, while the overall con-
ductivity of a porous concrete is the resultant of the thermal
conductivity of the silicate structure and that of the air
contained in it. It is for this reason that the thermal
conductivity of the concrete is related to the apparent
density [1].
Thermal behavior of concrete is relevant to any use of
concrete, especially in relation to structures where it is
desirable to have low thermal conductivity, dimensional
stability, high specific heat and little or no decrease of
stiffness upon heating. Although much work has been done
on the effect of admixture and the mechanical properties of
concrete, relatively little work has been done on the thermal
conductivity [2 5].
Thermal conductivity of concrete increases with increas-
ing moisture content. Since water has a conductivity about
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +90-442-231-4768; fax: +90-442-236-
0959.
E-mail address: demiram@atauni.edu.tr (R. Demirboga).
25 times that of air, it is clear that when the air in the pores
has been partially displaced by water or moisture, the
concrete must have greater conductivity [1,6 9]. Steiger
and Hurd [10] reported that, when unit weight of concrete
increased 1% due to the water absorption, the thermal
conductivity of these specimens increases 5%.
Thermal conductivity of concrete increases with increas-
ing cement content [3,11] and thermal conductivity of
aggregate [7,8]. SF causes a decrease in the thermal con-
ductivity and an increase in the specific heat of cement paste
[2]. SF also causes an increase in the electrical resistivity
[5]. However, the effect of SF and FA on the thermal
conductivity of lightweight aggregate concrete (LWAC)
has not been previously reported.
Since the thermal conductivity of crystalline silica is
about 15 times that of amorphous [4], it is natural for the
concretes with amorphous silica to have lower conductivity
[12,13]. The amorphous silica in the cement paste, which is
the continuous phase in concrete taken as a composite, may
also contribute to lower the thermal conductivity.
Admixtures, such as silica fume (SF) and fly ash (FA),
are used in concrete for improving the mechanical prop-
erties, decreasing the rate of hydration, decreasing the alkali
aggregate reactivity and decreasing the permeability of
concrete. However, their effects on the thermal conductivity
have received little attention [2,13].

0008-8846/02/$ see front matter D 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/S0008-8846(02)01032-3
724 R. Demirboga, R. Gul / Cement and Concrete Research 33 (2003) 723727

2. Materials and methods The binder (PC, or PC + SF or FA) content was 200 kg/m3
of concrete. Six main groups of mixes of PA and EPA were
ASTM Type III, Portland cement (PC), from Bolu in produced. They were specified as A (100% PA), B (80%
Turkey was used in this study. SF, FA, pumice aggregate PA + 20% EPA), C (60% PA + 40% EPA), D (40% PA + 60%
(PA) and expanded perlite aggregate (EPA) were obtained EPA), E (20% PA + 80% EPA) and F (100% EPA). For each
from Antalya Electro Metallurgy Enterprise, Afsin Thermal group, separately, SF-PC and FA-PC mixtures were prepared
Power Plant, Kocapinar region in Van-Ercis and Etibank adding 0%, 10%, 20% and 30% SF or FA in weight to PC.
Perlite Expansion Enterprise in Izmir in Turkey, respect- Hence, 42 different mixes were obtained and cast. The full
ively. The chemical composition and physical properties of details of these mixes are given elsewhere [14].
the materials used in this study are summarized in Table 1. The concrete mixes were prepared in a laboratory
Sulphonate naphthalene formaldehyde was used as a super- counter-current mixer for a total of 5 min. Hand compac-
plasticizer, compatible with ASTM C 494 F (high-range tion was used. Precautions were taken to ensure homogen-
water reducer) at a dosage of 1.5 ml/kg of cement. eity and full compaction. The maximum size of coarse
The ASTM D 75, ASTM C 136 and C 29 were used for aggregate was 16 mm. For each mixture, three samples of
sampling, grading, unit weight and fineness modulus of 110  160  40 mm3 prisms were prepared and moist-
aggregates, respectively. The full details of these properties cured for 7 days, and then removed from the moist room
are given elsewhere [14]. and stored in lime saturated water at 20 3
C until the
time of the testing. The specimens were dried at the age of
28 days in an oven at 110 10
C and weighed at 24-h
Table 1 intervals until the loss in weight did not exceed 1% in a
Chemical analysis and physical properties of PC, SF, FA, PA and EPA (%) 24-h (ASTM C 332). The specimens surfaces were
Component PC SF FA PA EPA sandpapered before measuring their thermal conductivities.
(%) (%) (%) (%) (%) A Quick Thermal Conductivity Meter (QTM 500) based
SiO2 19.80 93.7 30.6 71.35 72.54 on ASTM C 1113-90 Hot Wire Method was used [15].
Fe2O3 3.42 0.35 5.5 1.54 QTM 500 device is a production of Kyoto Electronics
Al2O3 5.61 0.3 14.8 13.20 12 16 Manufacturing, Japan. Measurement range is 0.0116 6 W/
CaO 62.97 0.8 36.8 1.84 0.2 0.5
MgO 1.81 0.85 2.5 0.01 mK. Measurement precision is 5% of reading value per
SO3 2.36 0.34 4.9 0.04 reference plate. Reproducibility is 3% of reading value
C 0.52 per reference plate. Measurement temperature is 100 to
K2O 0.3 5.00 1000
C (external bath or electric furnace for temperature
Na2O 3.40 2.9 4 other than room). Sample size required is two pieces of 100
TiO2 0.2 0.25
Sulphide (S 2) 0.17 0.1 0.3
W  80 L  40 mm thick or more. Measuring time is
Chlor (Cl ) 0.04 standard 100 120 s.
(S)+(F)+(A) 50.9 This method has wide applications [16 18] in determin-
Undetermined 0.30 ing thermal conductivity of refractory materials where,
Free CaO 0.71 11.5 instead of measuring heat flow, the temperature variation
LOI 0.36 0.5 1.0 2.4 3.05
with time at certain locations is measured. Being transient in
Physical and mechanical properties nature, this method takes only a few minutes in contrast to
Specific gravity 3.15 2.18 2.4 1.12 0.28 the earlier methods involving steady-state conditions.
(g/cm3)
Specific surface 3410
(cm2/g)
Remainder on 0.1 3. Test results and their evaluations
200-mm
sieve (%) The results obtained in the tests are shown in Figs. 1 8.
Remainder on 3.1 They are evaluated and discussed below.
90-mm
sieve (%)
Setting time 130
3.1. Oven dry unit weights
initial (min)
Setting time 160 It was observed that unit weights of the 28-day LWAC
final (min) decreased with increasing EPA in the mixtures due to the
Volume expansion 3 lower specific gravity of EPA. SF and FA used as replacement
(Le Chatelier, mm)
Compressive
for PC lowered the unit weights a little. The highest unit
strength (MPa) weight was 1154 kg/m3 at samples 100% PA + 100% PC. The
2 days 23.7 unit weights decreased with increasing EPA in the mixes. It
7 days 39.9 was seen that the lowest unit weight value was 435 kg/m3 at
28 days 46.4 100% EPA and 70% PC + 30% SF. Thus, the unit weights
 R. Demirboga, R. Gul / Cement and Concrete Research 33 (2003) 723727 725

Fig. 1. Relationship between dry unit weights ( 0.02) and thermal conductivity ( 0.05).

varied between 1154 and 435 kg/m3. Relationship between
dry unit weight and thermal conductivity is shown in Fig. 1.
3.2. Thermal conductivity
Figs. 2 7 show the effects of SF and FA (10%, 20% and
30% replacement of PC) on thermal conductivity of the A,
B, C, D, E and F groups of LWAC, respectively. The
following results were observed. EPA (replacement of PA)
decreased thermal conductivity of LWAC. For 20%, 40%,
60%, 80% and 100% replacement of PA, other ingredients
and conditions were constant; the reductions were 7.3%,
15.4%, 17.9%, 37.5% and 43.5% compared to the corres-
ponding control specimens, respectively (Fig. 8).
SF and FA reduced the thermal conductivity of Group A.
The reductions in thermal conductivity induced by 10%,
20% and 30% SF for Group A are 2.5%, 6% and 10%
compared to the corresponding control specimens, respect-
ively (Fig. 2). The reductions due to FA (10%, 20% and
30% replacement of PC) for the same group are 10%, 11%
and 12%, respectively. This is because the density decreased
with increasing SF and FA content. The low density of
LWAC by means of SF and FA is probably related to the
higher air content [2], and partly to the amorphous structure

Fig. 2. Relationship between admixtures and thermal conductivity of A. Fig. 4. Relationship between admixtures and thermal conductivity of C.

Fig. 3. Relationship between admixtures and thermal conductivity of B. Fig. 5. Relationship between admixtures and thermal conductivity of D.
726 R. Demirboga, R. Gul / Cement and Concrete Research 33 (2003) 723727
Fig. 6. Relationship between admixtures and thermal conductivity of E.
of SF and FA, as indicated in Refs. [4,19]. As mentioned by
Fu and Chung [2], the LWAC with SF is related to the high
air void content. The effect of FA on Group A is greater than
that of SF for all replacements. The differences between the
FA replacements are very little. Additionally, Gul et al. [3],
Akman and Tasdemir [20] and Blanco et al. [21] also
reported that the thermal conductivity decreased due to the
density decreasing of concrete. Lu-shu et al. [22] experi-
mentally formulated a correlation between the density and
thermal conductivity, and reported that the thermal conduc-
tivity increased with increasing density (see Fig. 2).
For Group B, both SF and FA at the 30% replacement of
PC reduced the thermal conductivity by 18.3% and 18.6%,
respectively. The reductions due to FA (10%, 20% and 30%)
for Group B were 9.5%, 12.2% and 18.6%, respectively.
The effect of FA on Group B is greater than that of the SF at
the 10% and 20% replacements. Hence, at the 30% replace-
ment of PC, both SF and FA induce approximately equal
reduction (Fig. 3).
Fig. 4 shows that, in Group C, the reductions in thermal
conductivity for all SF percentages were around 7%, and
increased from 1.5% to 7.4% at 30% FA content.
SF and FA caused decreases in the thermal conductivities
of all samples of Group D. These reductions were 3.6%,
16% and 15.4% for SF, and 2%, 5.9% and 13.6% for FA,
respectively (Fig. 5). Figs. 6 and 7 show the reduction in
thermal conductivity values for Groups E and F. The
maximum reduction of thermal conductivity was observed
at 30% FA for Group F.
In our own study, it was determined that the higher
reduction in thermal conductivity in all groups was at
30% SF and FA replacement of PC. When the groups are
compared with each other, the effects of SF and FA at 30%
Fig. 7. Relationship between admixtures and thermal conductivity of F.
Fig. 8. Relationship between EPA ratio and thermal conductivity.
replacement of PC on Group B were greater than the effects
on the other groups. This is due to the fact that the effect of
the 30% SF and FA replacement of PC on thermal conduc-
tivity lowers as the EPA ratio after 20% increases in these
mixes. While the effect of the SF and FA (30%) without the
EPA on thermal conductivity is around 10% and 12%,
respectively, the effect of the SF and FA (30%) with the
EPA of 20% on thermal conductivity is around 18.3% and
18.5%, respectively. The effect of the SF and FA (30%) with
the EPA of 40%, 60% and 80% on thermal conductivity is
around 7%, 7.4%, and 15.4%, 13.64%, and 8.7%, 3.2%,
respectively.
Chen and Chung [5] reported that latex (20 30% by
weight of cement), methylcellulose (0.4 0.8% by weight of
cement) and SF (15% by weight of cement) decreased the
thermal conductivity of cement paste up to 46%. However,
as can be seen, they only used plain cement (that is, without
aggregate). Thus, we can say that, in our study, the SF (30%
by weight of cement) plus PA and EPA decreased thermal
conductivity up to 18.5%, while, in their study, the SF (15%
by weight of cement) decreased the thermal conductivity of
cement paste up to 46% [2]. Demirboga [23] reported that
SF and FA decreased thermal conductivity of mortar up to
40% and 33% at 30% replacement of PC, respectively.
In conclusion, for all groups, the thermal conductivity
decreased with increasing SF and FA content. The variation
in the reductions may be due to the testing condition and
moisture contents. Both SF and FA caused significant
reductions in the thermal conductivities. The reduction
due to the FA is greater than that of the SF. The reduction
in thermal conductivity is primarily due to the low density
of LWAC with SF and FA content, and may be partly due to
the amorphous silica content of SF and FA [4,19]. EPA also
reduced the thermal conductivity of samples up to 43.5%.
4. Conclusions
SF (10%, 20% and 30% replacement by weight of PC),
FA (10%, 20% and 30% replacement by weight of PC) and
EPA (20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and 100% replacement of PA)
were effective for decreasing the thermal conductivity of
LWAC up to 43.5%, mainly due to the relatively low
conductivity of these admixtures and EPA and the con-
sequent low density of the LWAC.
 R. Demirboga, R. Gul / Cement and Concrete Research 33 (2003) 723727
The thermal conductivity and dry unit weight of LWAC
decreased with increasing SF and FA content. Both SF and
FA showed the maximum reduction of thermal conductivity
at 30% replacement of PC in all groups, and maximum
reduction was observed at Group B.
FA was more effective than SF in decreasing the thermal
conductivity. The maximum reduction was due to the FA (at
30% by weight of PC) and it was 18.6%. The EPA
replacement of PA (20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and 100%,
respectively) reduced the thermal conductivity, density and
the dry unit weights of samples. The maximum reduction
due to 100% EPA replacement of PA was 43.5%.
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